.

.

.

I used to pay 30RMB in 2007. They are now a whopping 50RMB ($7). But when you think you would need to pay €50 in Paris or $85 in New York, it’s still a steal.

The brand, Feiyue (飞跃 – “fly over”), was founded in the 1920s in Shanghai and they were the quintessential sport shoes of every young (and not so young) chinese. Think of them as the Converse or Adidas of your youth!

They were not as trendy anymore but then in 2006 a French company saw the retro potential of the brand and turned them into hip street fashion, hence the price hike!

It used to be a lot easier to find them in Beijing (prior to 2006) where you could buy them in a lot of the old little shops or even the local (bigger) supermarkets like JingKeLong. I had a harder time finding a pair to replace my 2 old pairs I bought before I left Beijing but with a little help of some friends I rediscovered a “new” little old store that sell them.